The Battlefield Line Railway

Story

Shackerstone railway station is a preserved railway station and heritage museum in Leicestershire, Central England. It is also the terminus for (as well as the headquarters of) the Heritage Battlefield Line Railway, with the Shackerstone Railwayana Museum, tea room, shop, loco shed and main rolling stock located here, respectively.The Ashby Canal is within close proximity of the station's front door.HistoryThe original intention was to site the station where it is today, but in response to a request from Lord Howe of Gopsall Hall, the Committee agreed to move it north of the junction and call it "Gopsall"; but soon altered their minds and moved it back to the obvious place, the junction. Land for this purpose was bought from Lord Howe, who in 1877, was allowed to plant trees along the approach road to the station. The station was designed by the Midland Railway company architect John Holloway Sanders.Its position made Shackerstone strategically important in the operation of the line, and it seems to have been selected as the headquarters of the inspector (Manning by name) in charge of the working of the line. Probably he combined the post with the stationmastership (as was done on the GN-LNWR Joint Line in East Leicestershire at Melton Mowbray) for no stationmaster is named at Shackerstone in the first staff list, and Manning’s pay, 50 shillings per week, was much higher than any other member of the ANJR’s staff. It must also have ranked in the top class of three varieties of station planned by the Committee, for constructional purposes, the estimated cost being £1,300 plus £350 for the stationmaster’s house. The building of Shackerstone Station was undertaken by Messrs. J. & E. Woods of Derby, as part of a contract that also included the stations of Measham, Snarestone, Heather and Hugglescote, for which the contract price was £12,826.15.0. On this basis the price of Shackerstone should have been about £3,500. One thing remains at present unknown: the name of the architect. As the stations on the ANJR. are similar to a few on the Midland system, it is likely that they are the work of a member of the Midland Railway’s staff, as there is no reference in the minutes to payments to any outside architect in this connection. It is a great pity that we cannot attach the name of any individual to these charming little buildings, which are among the most delightful small stations anywhere on our railways.